Arterial puncture phlebotomy in whole-blood donors

BACKGROUND:

An arterial puncture during whole-blood phlebotomy is a rare event. A series of arterial punctures was evaluated to determine the clinical findings and the incidence of complications.
STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS:

Arterial punctures reported by staff between January 1, 1999, and February 28, 2001, were evaluated. Follow-up interviews were done with the phlebotomy nurses to determine what the clinical findings were and what the incidence of complications was.
RESULTS:

Twelve cases of arterial punctures were identified from 410,000 blood donations (0.0029%; 1/34,000). Eleven cases had a fast blood-flow rate of CONCLUSION:

Fast blood-flow rate is the most common clinical feature after an arterial puncture. Bright red blood is usually, but not always, present, and a pulsating needle is sometimes present. Hematoma is a relatively common complication, and brachial artery pseudoaneurysms are rare, although one case was seen in this study.